Does Frac Mining Cause Earth Quakes? No.

[Grand Magus]

Frac Mining may cause new voids to form underground as existing material is pumped away for human consumption. As a result, the higher layers (those above the newly formed voids) can sometimes settle. And, this settling may make the top of the Earth shake, in a very localized area above the Frac Mining region(s), but this is not an earthquake.

An earthquake is caused by movement between continental plates.

And if you fall into a sink hole formation induced by Frac Mining occurring in the ground layers below, well that's back luck.

But you are not the victim of an Earthquake.

[BigDTBone]

Semantics. The phenomenon that is registering as high as 3.5 on the Richter scale near my house is a problem caused by oil and gas exploration. If a geologist get uppity because I call it an earthquake, well they can kiss my ass.

Edit: Also, the term "earthquake" predates tectonic plate theory.

[Grand Magus]

BigDTBone wrote:

Semantics.

Correct. Respect semantics.

BigDTBone wrote:

Edit: Also, the term "earthquake" predates tectonic plate theory.

So what? So does oil and sand and dinosaurs.

[Garrett Guillotte]

USGS wrote:

Enhanced oil recovery injects fluid into rock layers where oil and gas have already been extracted, while wastewater injection often occurs in never-before-touched rocks. Therefore, wastewater injection can raise pressure levels more than enhanced oil recovery, and thus increases the likelihood of induced earthquakes.

(sources)

[BabaJiBlackMagicLoveSpecialist]

I approve of this thread

[Sissyl]

It seems to me that whenever the USG calls something "enhanced" anything, it is something everyone should stay the f~#% away from. If they one day call something enhanced nutrition or enhanced intelligence, we're probably all screwed.

[Scythia]

I think that the unprecedented increase in seismic events in Oklahoma since the advent of hydraulic fracturing provides ample reason to suspect that hydraulic fracturing and an increase in seismic activity could be correlated.

[Sara Marie]

Removed some posts. Be kind and respectful when debating with others on our site.

[Ross Byers]

Grand Magus wrote:

BigDTBone wrote:

Semantics.

Correct. Respect semantics.

If someone says "Fracking created an earthquake that destroyed my house." they may be semantically incorrect in calling it an 'earthquake' instead of a 'sinkhole' or something else.

That is not the part that should be focused on: they're more focused on the destroyed house than the exact geologic phenomenon that led to the destruction.

As long as we're focusing on semantics, you say a sinkhole is mere 'bad luck'. Well, no. 'Bad luck', like the term 'accident', implies no one is to blame, when there is a clear actor to blame (the companies using fracking.)

Grand Magus wrote:

BigDTBone wrote:

Edit: Also, the term "earthquake" predates tectonic plate theory.

So what? So does oil and sand and dinosaurs.

The point is that 'earthquake' originally meant 'the earth is shaking'. Any definition involving tectonic plates has to have come later. Thus, there is a gap between what a layman might mean by earthquake and what a geologist might mean. That does not make the layman wrong. Merely less precise.

[Liz Courts]

Removed post, locking thread. Baiting posts and threads are not okay.